Chapter 1 : What the fuck is that?

The world is vast, and just as many different kinds of people exist.

Take a look around~

Age, appearance, facial features, personality—everything is different.

Some things might be similar to a certain extent, but they can never be completely the same.

That’s just how it is.

Because we are different people.

Fundamentally different, right down to the genetic level.

Because the elements that make up a person are different, their behaviors are different too.

Everyone has their own preferences, their own tastes.

You could say that’s what makes up a person’s individuality.

In the end, there are countless lives in this world.

As mentioned earlier, each unique person lives life in their own way.

Some study hard and become doctors, some become police officers who catch criminals, some are born into wealthy families and spend their entire lives traveling the world without a care…

And beyond that, there are still countless lives we don’t know about.

For example, some 58-year-old guy named Dwayne, living on a remote island on the other side of the world—a country whose name I wouldn’t even know.

Just as I don’t know his life story, he will never know mine until the day he dies.

That was a long introduction, but what I wanted to say is…

“Ah, UglyDog, thanks for the 5,400 won donation!”

There are lives like this in the world, too.

— Screech!

No sooner had I finished thanking the donation than a video started playing in one corner of the stream.

A video donation.

This type of donation allows viewers to play a video on the stream by donating above a certain amount.

It’s the most frequently used feature on my stream.

I vaguely remember there being some copyright issues around this recently, but since there hasn’t been any real crackdown yet, it looks like it’ll continue to be allowed.

That was fortunate for me.

Because, well, this is my livelihood.

Video donations make up 90%—no, recently, nearly 100% of my total donations.

It makes sense; instead of just donating money, people prefer to send a video they want to show.

After all, why would anyone spend money on a no-name male streamer who isn’t particularly entertaining and isn’t some attractive female streamer they’d want to simp for?

I can understand that sentiment, to some degree.

But putting that aside, most of the videos sent by viewers are hard to make sense of.

— Iying iying iying iying!

A Japanese anime character spouts incomprehensible gibberish.

How do I even describe this?

The more I listen, the more my face scrunches up.

It’s more like noise pollution than actual speech.

The original probably wasn’t this unbearable to listen to, but the voice—already high-pitched—had been edited to squeeze out every last bit of shrillness.

The world is full of different kinds of people, and with that, different kinds of tastes.

Even if my viewers have these kinds of strange tastes, I can at least try to understand it.

[Ah, fuck, that guy’s back again.]

[LMAO, the weeb is here.]

[UglyDog seriously needs to get checked for a mental illness.]

[Jesus fucking Christ.]

[I’ve heard this so many times I’m getting used to it now…]

[Why are you guys hating on my precious Earning? You’re all so mean.]

[How much money does this weeb even have?]

[Dude keeps sending multiple 3-minute-long videos, wtf.]

But it seemed like this wasn’t just about taste.

Even the small number of regulars who frequent my stream were completely horrified—even more than I was.

So then, what was the reason for spending money, getting insulted by everyone, and sending videos like this?

I had a vague idea.

<FuzzyFuzzFuzz donated 8,900 won!>

“FuzzyFuzzFuzz, thanks for the 8,900 won donation.”

Another video donation.

For some reason, even before the video started, I already had a feeling I knew what it was.

Both this guy and the last guy—these were people who had already sent videos to my stream several times before.

At this point, I’d memorized their usernames.

If my guess was correct, this video would be…

— Mmm, mmm, mmm~…

Was this… a furry video?

Two anthropomorphic animals acting like humans—kissing each other.

[LMAO, the furry shit again.]

[Oh fuck no.]

[Furry furry time…]

[Welcome, fellow furries~]

[Fucking hell, FuzzyFuzzFuzz…]

[Ka.]

[Hey Fuzzy, long time no see~]

[Why… why do you do this?]

Once again, the chat exploded.

Some people were visibly suffering, while others seemed completely unfazed.

And those who weren’t fazed? Their usernames were all familiar to me.

They had been watching my stream for a long time, just like me.

They had built up a resistance.

Seeing this, the reason why people spend money to send these kinds of videos became painfully obvious.

Because it’s fun.

Watching my viewers—who are by no means a small number—freak out, laugh, and react in shock to a single video is endlessly entertaining.

If even I find it amusing, just imagine how much fun the person who sent the video must be having.

That’s right—my stream had become a show centered around video donations.

People didn’t come to watch me.

They came to watch video donations.

The 300 or so viewers currently watching weren’t here because they had any real attachment to my stream.

They were here out of habit, because they were bored, or because they were curious about what kind of cursed videos they’d be subjected to today.

And those who had money to spare?

They threw in their own personal contributions, adding their own taste into the mix.

Me?

My stream had long since turned into a community hub—a place for shitposting, a reaction channel built on video donations.

At some point, without even realizing it, things just became this way.

According to my viewers, my reactions to video donations were legendary.

And honestly?

That worked out just fine for me.

Who cares if I’m not the one driving the content?

Who cares if I’m just reacting to whatever cursed videos my viewers throw at me?

As long as I kept doing that, my bank account swelled by 3 to 4 million won every month.

Any pride I had as a content creator?

I had already sold that out to money a long time ago.

Or maybe—just maybe—this was just another form of streaming.

A viewer-driven form of content.

Like I said earlier, the world has all kinds of jobs and ways to live.

Just like salarymen get paid by their companies, I get paid by my viewers through video donations.

It’s not that complicated.

<“VtubersAreLove” has donated 12,400 won!>

Ah, another job came in.

Time to watch and react.

“VtubersAreLove, thanks for the 12,400 won donation.”

What kind of video would it be this time?

For once, I wasn’t sure—I felt a little nervous.

Most of my regular donors were predictable.

Since the same people kept donating, the same types of videos kept popping up.

For example, UglyDog always sends anime clips.

FuzzyFuzzFuzz specialized in furry and BL content.

They were regular donors—so consistent that they never even changed their usernames.

Probably because they enjoyed the attention they got from the chat.

Given the donor’s name, this one was probably Vtuber-related.

Apparently, Vtubers were huge right now.

I’d never looked too deeply into it since I was too busy making a living, but I’d at least heard about it.

From what I gathered, people streamed using anime avatars…?

It was a divisive topic, which only made me more curious.

— “Let me say this again, everyone! Aina is a noble! You must all bow your heads to Aina!”

But even after watching the video, I was left with more questions than answers.

So… this was a Vtuber?

What the hell was this?

More importantly, how was I supposed to react to it?

[What the fuck am I looking at?]

[Another unhinged one? This stream’s wild.]

[I swear, no stream is as cursed as this one. LMAO.]

[What even is a Vtuber, you weebs?]

[Ahahaha, you know Aina? Aina is an 800-year-old noble lady who got hit by a carriage and reincarnated in Korea…]

[Man, the world really has everything, huh?]

“…Hah.”

I started thinking fast.

Why had my stream remained strong among all the other reaction-based streams?

What sets me apart from the others?

The answer was simple:

honesty.

I didn’t fake my reactions or hold back.

I said exactly what I felt.

That’s what made people stick around.

So I decided to do what I always did—say whatever was on my mind.

“What the fuck is this, you weeb?”

“You seriously watch this kind of shit?”

“I don’t even understand what they’re saying, and it’s creeping me out. Feels like I’m looking into the uncanny valley or something. You probably don’t have any friends at school or work, huh?”

[Whoa whoa whoa.]

[Ka.]

[STOP, STOP.]

[DAMAGE METER EXPLODING LMFAO.]

[This guy doesn’t hold back.]

[Damn, it’s been a while since he roasted someone this hard…]

[All the Vtuber fans who were excitedly chatting just went silent. LMFAO.]

[This is gold.]

As the chat flooded with laughter and shock, I couldn’t help but grin.

And then—

<“VtubersAreLove” has donated 8,300 won!>

<“VtubersAreLove” has donated 12,400 won!>

<“VtubersAreLove” has donated 17,900 won!>

<“VtubersAreLove” has donated 28,300 won!>

…Oh?

Looks like I struck a nerve.

The donations suddenly started pouring in at an insane rate.

So fast, in fact, that I couldn’t even react properly.

And every single donation contained Vtuber-related videos.

That Aina character from earlier showed up again, along with a bunch of others—each with a different hair color, all chattering away in their own quirky ways.

It seemed like they were all different Vtubers.

Clearly, “VtubersAreLove” was deeply offended by my earlier comments.

And this was their way of retaliating—bombarding me with video donations.

…Well, that worked out for me.

After all, being brutally honest was what raked in the money.

I gave my raw opinion, and in response, donations flooded in.

‘Should I push this even further?’

Blinded by greed, I started saying things I normally would’ve held back on.

“I seriously don’t get why people watch Vtubers. Honestly, plain old weebs are better. At least they genuinely like anime characters.”

That was the last thing I managed to say.

—Beeeep.

Suddenly, my body lost all strength.

My vision blurred, and a loud ringing noise filled my ears.

‘…Huh?’

A sensation I had never felt before—the feeling of my body collapsing.

And in the midst of it all, my fading sight caught a glimpse of something.

<“VtubersAreLove” has donated 444,444,444 won!>

—”Then I guess I’ll have to show you myself.”

<“VtubersAreLove” has donated 444,444,444 won!>

—”I pity you for not understanding the beauty of Vtubers.”

A donation amount I had never seen before in my entire streaming career.

That was the last thing I saw before I lost consciousness.

“Eh…?”

And when I woke up—

I had turned into a girl.